Staircase
by JH1992
Summary: When Raven falls, he's willing to do anything for her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Nope. Not mine.

My eyes freeze. I see Raven falling, tripping over someone's shoes–laundry, whatever. All I know is she's going to fall–down the staircase. I charge up the stairs, three at a time, heart hammering wildly against my chest. Raven realizes her mistake and opens her mouth to scream. Mid-jump I turn into an octopus, five long tentacles grabbing her to me. She's so cold—How could she be that cold? I brace myself for the long fall, but suddenly I feel nothing. Well, Raven, duh, but there's no blinding pain, no searing burn or broken neck. I carefully open an eye. Raven, in a fearful reflex, has suspended us in mid-air. I could kiss her, I'm so relieved. I almost laugh at the way we must look. Me in octopus form, tentacles tied around her tiny waist, Raven's eyes shut in fear, unknowingly protecting us from harm. I morph back into human form and nudge her softly, eyeing the thin black force field suspiciously.

"Hey," I whisper, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Nice reflexes." I stupidly remember seeing _Spider-man_ last night and wince. Real original, Beast Boy.

Raven's eyes snap open. "You mean I'm not dead?" Her tone is half sarcastic, but I couldn't care less.

I hug her tighter. "No!" I cry happily. "No, no, no! You saved us!" I sound like a lunatic, and I don't care. She carefully looks around us, forgetting—on purpose?—that my arms remain glued to her. I take my chance and get a whiff of her hair. Lilies; Her favorite. She's still cold, though, and I'm irked at this. Irked. Hah. Funny word. Okay! Back on track. I scoot closer still towards her, so absolutely no space remains between us. Raven icily looks back at me, and I gaze at her innocently.

"It's just... You're so cold... Doesn't it ever bother you?" I say, letting my hands slide down a little, so that they rest loosely around her waist. She doesn't look back this time, and her back goes stiff. I wonder if I should let go of her, but decide not to. She hasn't killed me yet–Milk it while you still can.

"Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder if the cold will ever go away, Beast Boy. But I know it won't. I know some things will always remain the same," Raven says, eyes darting around the room. I get a sinking feeling that she's not talking about being cold anymore. "But... Some things do change. Sometimes for the worst, sometimes... sometimes for the better." She looks at me, and her eyes flash for a moment, firecrackers exploding brilliantly with color and happiness. The moment passes, and her eyes slowly glow back to their normal shade. I miss it already.

"I... I can try to fix that... Being cold, that is..." I say softly, rubbing her back gently. Once again, she doesn't bite my head off. I wonder if I'm dreaming. But then she does something that shocks me. She closes her eyes and leans her head on my shoulders. I let out a little breath, and Raven slowly opens her eyes. I reach out to stroke her hair, but Raven brushes my hand away. Is that–A smile! Raven. _Smiling?_

"Not so fast, Beast Boy."

I grin back, and lean my head down on hers, so I'm facing her, upside-down. She rolls her eyes at me, but I take it as a sign of playfulness, and dart my tongue onto her nose. She sputters, and swats me away, disgusted. I laugh, and pull my head back up.

"Raven... Are you still cold?" I whisper lightly in her ear. She rolls her mouth into a thin, straight line. It's a sign she's trying not to laugh. "Raaaaaaaaven..."

I think I almost did it. Raven's mouth is practically non-existent, and I see a bead of sweat drip down her forehead. Thankfully, she's managed to keep the force field up, though it was quite possible for us to get down.

"Whatever you do... Don't–" I begin, my long fang pressing gently on her ear,"---laugh."

She bursts out laughing. I let out a 'hah' and wiggle my fingers into her sides. Raven gasps for breath, but I clamp my hand over her mouth. I just didn't want the force field to collapse. Her eyes shoot open, and she begins to laugh again. I should sell tickets for this. I can feel Raven laugh into my hand, so I give it up and I slowly slide my gloved hands up and down her back, right on the spine. I can hear a lamp break, and... Was that the ugly clown picture we all hated crashing to the ground?

"God––Beast Boy—" She breaks away from me and pauses to laugh, trying desperately to stop. Somewhere, a basketball explodes."I'm—going—to—get—you!" Another vase.

"I await your challenge," I croon into her ear. This time, Raven flicks me on the head. I snicker andslink my arms around her again. She squirms a little, but eventually calms down. And then we're both silent, soaking in the moment. I wonder how this happened. I don't dwell on it though. I'm just happy we're together, as friends, as more. Who cares, really?

"Hey Raven," I say softly, after a while. "You want to know something funny?" I prepare for the exasperated sigh, for the cold reply, for anything harsh. Her eyes don't open.

"Yes."

I don't think I could face any more shocks right now. "I, uh, was kind of jealous. Of Robin." And I was, too. He kept stealing the stoplight, kept comforting her like he was the only one who could. Though it was years ago, it was still enough to make me sick.

Raven still doesn't open her eyes. "Yeah. I know." I could have fainted.

"_What?_ You knew, and you kept it up?" I stop rubbing her shoulders. Slowly, she opens her eyes.

"What you did with Terra, ages ago, it was the same thing. Only you didn't know it."

I can't believe she's bringing Terra up.

"So what was I supposed to do, Raven? It's not like you came and talked to me about it!" My tone is rougher than I intended it to be, andmy grip on her becomes looser.

"It's not like you talked to me, either," Raven says calmly. A tremor of anger rushes through me.

"You never _wanted_ to talk! You always locked yourself up in your room, and if we got within a foot of it, you'd tell us to go away, to leave you alone! It's not _our_ fault! _You_ were the one who wanted to be alone!" I wonder hopelessly if I've gone too far. Raven closes her eyes again, but I see something slide down her cheeks. I rub my eyes. It couldn't be that she... was crying?

"I know. I know, and I'm sorry. I don't want to be alone, Beast Boy," She cries, trying to make it seem as if she wasn't crying. I feel horrible. I put my arms around her shoulders and kiss her hair lightly, as a friendly gesture. I think.

"You won't be. I'll be here. I'll always be here for you." She looks up at me. She's never been so vulnerable, so innocent... So trusting. Her trust is so fragile–I know I should be careful with her. She was a frosty glass figurine, a single deer on an icy road. She was beautiful, in every way.

We don't know what to do next. All I know is that I've never felt so happy like I am now. Then something crashes down on my head. I love her. I knew something was always there, always lurking in the back of my mind. I never knew what it was before. But now I do. It's love. I–I can't believe I love her. But she doesn't love me. God, no. I was the comforting friend, the guy friend you talked to when your heart gets broken. Not _the _guy. The guy who you love. I sigh melancholily in her hair. She looks up at me.

"What's wrong?"

I love you, that's what.

"Nothing, Raven. Everything's... Perfect."

Author's Note:

I hope I don't get too into this... I was hoping it could just be a bit of Raven/Beast Boy fluff, but I dunno... I might continue it. Depends on the feedback. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Same as last time.

"Try it."

"I'm not gonna try it!"

"Why not? Raven drinks it, it can't be _that_ bad."

"How do you know?"

Cyborg shrugged, massive shoulders bobbing up and down. "Don't."

Beast Boy contemplated for a moment, taking a gloved hand and raising it to his chin, eyes half-open in thought. "Good enough." Trembling, he reached for the tea bag. And stared.

"So... Anyone know how to make tea?"

Cyborg peered into the empty cup. Then the tea bag. Then back to the cup.

"You just pour the water in, right?" Cyborg asked, looking at him questioningly. Beast Boy squinted, turning his head to the side.

"But Raven's water is always like... Brown," Beast Boy said slowly, tracing the rim of the cup. Then he brightened, sitting up a bit. "Hey! I know! Syrup is brown right? Maple syrup? So we'll put some of that in."

Cyborg's eyes got round and boyish, feet moving towards the cupboards. "Oh yeeeah. She likes milk too, huh?" Beast Boy nodded excitedly, ripping the refrigerator door open.

"And that white sugary stuff in those little pink packets! Whassitcalled?"

"Pudding mix!"

"Yeah!"

Cyborg spilled the ingredients onto the table, filling the cup with tap water. Beast Boy mixed in the maple syrup and pudding. Cyborg poured milk in slowly, as the cup was overfilling and giving off a sickly sweet stench. They stared down proudly at their creation.

"How about we give it to Raven?" Cyborg suggested. "She's the one who loves tea, after all." Beast Boy's stomach plummeted to his feet. Giving her tea would mean seeing her. And that couldn't happen. It had been his duty as a lovesick Titan to completely destroy all feelings for her. It couldn't happen–wouldn't happen. So he hadn't talked to her, looked at her, or tried to think of her. It was so hard–every moment it felt as if she had wormed her way into his puny mind, plastered her gorgeous picture up, so no matter where he went, she was there. And he kept smelling lilies. Those damn lilies! No matter what he ate, what he smelled, lilies had managed to overpower it, like she had been there all along.

And, in a way, Raven had been.

"How 'bout _you_ give it to Raven," Beast Boy said uncomfortably, laughing nervously. Cyborg raised his one eyebrow.

"Why me?"

Beast Boy began to sweat. Cyborg continued to bore into his head with his intimidating stare. The cup of 'tea' began to bubble slightly.

"Uh... I-I'm in uh... In uh... A fight with her. Totally nasty. She like, hates me now," Beast Boy said hurriedly, crossing his arms and attempting to look cool. Cyborg looked at him with a knowing smile.

"Did it again, eh?"

Beast Boy let out a relieved sigh.

"Yeah. I sure did."

.oOo.

Cyborg came in minutes later, cracked cup in hand, head covered in sticky goo. He shrugged unhappily, flicking a piece of the mess onto Beast Boy.

"Apparently, she doesn't like tea."

Beast Boy nodded absent-mindedly, staring dully at the countertop. He failed to notice the glob on the side of his head, but only concentrated on the salt-and-pepper marble. It swirled and bent until it formed a raven.

"Argh!" He muttered, thrusting his head onto his hands. Cyborg looked down at him while scrubbing his head violently.

"Go talk to her man. Maybe she's cooled off–Give it a try," He suggested, patting Beast Boy roughly on the back while discreetly wiping the substance off of his head. "She'll be happy to see anyone other than me right now."

That burning sensation in his stomach returned. He couldn't do it! Rejection was too hard to face. Besides, there was no way. She was beautiful, dark, and sarcastic. He was less than perfect, light as the sun, and funny (So he thought, at least). But this couldn't go on forever. They lived in the same Tower, fought on the same team. It would be impossible not to see each other. What other choice did he have?

Beast Boy wiped his forehead and chewed his lip. "You're right. I–I'll go talk to her."

Pushing his chair back shakily, he swallowed harshly, stumbling into the darkness that was his home.

Cyborg chuckled quietly to himself, wringing out the soaked towel into the kitchen sink. "Dead man walking..."

.oOo.

A faint clang rings out through my room. I slid my eyes open and grimace. If it was Cyborg again with that mockery of nature—

"Raven... It's uh... Me. Beast Boy. Yeah, betcha you can kinda tell, huh, with me being, uh, me and all but just in case you—" Beast Boy. I don't know what to feel right now, so I simply don't. I do get up though, and dust myself off. Pulling my hood up, I open the door with a creak. It was a sliding door; How could it creak?

"Uh... Hi," I croak, voice harsh from yelling at Cyborg. That stupid incident with Beast Boy–How _could_ I not see that sneaker?–replays over and over and over in my head, just by looking at him. He avoids my eyes, like he's been doing for the past week. I've never even seen him at all this week. It's a horrible feeling; Letting go of everything you stood for, just to be ignored and unwanted.

Beast Boy's eyes finally move upward to my face, lips curled into a smile. I can't believe him! He's _laughing_ at me. I pull my hood down lower, to cover my face even more. Could he see what I felt for him through my eyes? Could he sense my shame and embarrassment just by standing here? His smile grows and turns into a grin. _Why was he laughing?_

"Are you going to actually say something, or just stand here?"

Beast Boy snaps his eyes closed, then reels them back up again, though they no longer drill into my skull. His smile, hateful or not, is gone, and he's closed himself up again, folding himself into the cliched jokester king that he was born to play.

"I shouldn't, probably. I'd just screw things up even more," Beast Boy chortles, laughing in that kind of funny-but-I'm-not-really-laughing way only he can pull off.

"True," I say coldly, crossing my arms. He winces, and chews his lip, a nervous habit. He ignores me for a week, laughs at me, and then tells me he's going to screw up again. What a guy. "But I'm guessing you're going to say something anyway."

"I'm guessing you're right," He mutters, looking up at the ceiling, as if that would help. A moment passes, and Beast Boy continues gazing at the ceiling whilst I get more annoyed by the second. This is pointless; A useless conversation that could only end in my frustration and his confusion. I uncross my arms and sigh.

"Look, this is going nowhere. Talk to me when you have something to say–" I motion to close the door when I hear his voice, soft and raspy.

"I love you."

It's silent for a moment.

Then I slam the door in his face.

Author's Note:

I forgot how to do the... thing... on top of cliched. Sorry about that. I'm also sorry about reposting this "darn" chapter over and over. Fanfiction seems to think it's funny to leave out the spaces between some words HALF of the time. Ha. Ha.


	3. Chapter 3

"...And then he told me... he loved me..." Raven murmured, sitting crossed legged on Starfire's bed. Her hood was up and her head was bowed, fingers tracing the intricate design of Starfire's blanket. The red-haired alien sat across from her, head leaned toward Raven in wonder.

"Oh my goodness! _Raven!_ Beast Boy has affections for you! You must be so... happy!" Starfire rushed out, wistfully sighing at Raven, though it didn't stop her from bouncing up and down on her bed happily. Raven didn't move, and Starfire's excited expression turned to one of confusion.

"You... You do not return his affection?"

Raven seemed to choke on Starfire's statement, and she painfully shut her eyes. "I keep telling myself I don't... but the more I say that... The more I realize it isn't true."

Starfire half-smiled and placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. "So tell him. I am sure he will be delighted."

"Yeah. He'll love me even more after I slammed the door in his face," Raven scoffed, propping a hand to her head. Starfire avoided her gaze.

"Well... I admit, your actions were less than perfect," Starfire said lamely, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "...I do wonder, though... Why did you do that?"

Raven didn't look at her. "I... I don't know why. I just couldn't take it... So I guess I just... Shut him out."

A moment of quiet passed over Starfire, and she squirmed uncomfortably.

"Right," Raven said, getting off of Starfire's bed. "Well. Thanks for listening."

"It was no problem!" Starfire cried, relieved, jumping off the bed. "Please, tell me what arises next!"

"I will," Raven promised, pushing the door open. Starfire's excited face faded away as the door shut with a click.

Raven let out a sigh worthy enough of a queen and slid down the wall, landing on her knees. Raven failed to notice the other person down the hall, until she heard a melancholy tune whistle in her ear.

And there stood Robin, eyes closed and legs bent against the wall, harmonica in his hands. He nodded to Raven.

"Hey."

"Uh–Hi," Raven said awkwardly. Robin tossed the harmonica around in his hands.

"Kinda hot today," Robin remarked casually, flipping the harmonica over. "Air conditioner's not working."

Raven nodded unsurely, not quite seeing the point.

"Cooler outside, anyway. Roof's nice this time of day," Robin sniffed, whistling a single note into the silver device. He looked at her. "Yep. Pretty cool up there."

Raven stared back at him.

"Well, I think I'm going to uh... eat..." Raven said, inching away from Robin and his harmonica. He didn't answer, just inspected the instrument, pulling it closer towards his masked eyes.

_What was that about?_ Raven wondered, pulling her hood down, surprised slightly at the change in temperature. It _was_ hot today. She shook the thought out of her head and continued walking down the hallway. It seemed oddly quiet today. The only sound to be heard was the ticking of the small metal clock in the kitchen, and that was a ways away.

_I'm not really hungry... _Raven mused, stopping at the door to the roof. _And it is sweltering hot. Maybe the roof is a good idea. _

So, somewhat hesitantly, Raven pulled the heavy door open, shutting it with a clang. It was significantly cooler, even in the stairway. Taking a deep breath, she started to climb the stairs. Something about this place didn't seem right to her. Like she was trespassing, almost.

Stepping onto the last stair, she quietly unlocked the door and pushed it open. It was a good thing too—A green figure lay hunched over in the gravel, crying quietly. Raven's eyes flickered open and she lay a hand to her mouth in shock.

Leaving the door open a crack–just so she could hear–Raven pressed herself against the cool gray walls and waited.

"God... God, I was an idiot!" Beast Boy sobbed, his hands over his face. "There was no way she could have... No way..."

Raven lowered her eyes. _I shouldn't be here_. Yet she couldn't will herself to move, either.

"Shut up, Beast Boy, shut up... You never do anything right... You expect her to like you?" Beast Boy cried, sourly spitting out the words like poison. "... Idiot!"

At that, he kicked the gravel underneath him violently, it spraying everywhere. It was only then Raven realized how close he was to the edge of the roof. _But he wouldn't—_She thought frantically, hands on the door, ready to push it open at any moment—_No. He's–He's just upset_.

But just as Raven was about to burst through the doors the alarm rang, signaling danger. Raven hesitated, torn between confronting Beast Boy or not being seen at all. She had to make up her mind quickly–there was little time to spare. Beast Boy was already hurriedly wiping his tears away and picking the gravel off of his uniform. Raven tore down the stairs and burst through the doors, panting wildly. She pulled her hood up, despite the heat, and headed for the main room.

"Some robber on the North side of town. Just a few runs, but she's getting away quickly," Robin commanded, scanning the computer. "Titans–Wait, where's Beast Boy?"

"Right... Right here," Beast Boy huffed, clutching his chest. "Sorry. I'm ready."

Robin nodded sharply, not noticing the redness under Beast Boy's eyes, or the fact that his shirt was crumpled and wet, either that, or he didn't care. Raven did, and avoided his eyes.

"Titans! GO!"

.oOo.

"Want a little _poison_?" A blue-haired woman cried seductively, throwing a small perfume vial at Cyborg's head. It exploded with a puff of light blue. "It's _great_ for a skin type like yours."

They were fighting what looked to be a woman drenched in sky blue–from her permed hair down to her thigh-high boots. Cyborg held his breath and ran, blasting her with a ray of energy. She fell to the ground, only to reemerge sneering, and holding a large vial of who-knows-what.

Robin jabbed her repeatedly, but she just laughed and ducked, the punches blowing by her like smog. The villian slid over to Starfire, where she held up her hands protectively, the starbolts ready to fire.

"Here, my sweet," the woman whispered in Starfire's ear. "Try some of this. It'll do you good. Poison knows what's best." She dropped the vial on Starfire's hair.

Starfire's eyes got big and she flew away wildly, swiping her hands through the mane of copper hair. She found the broken vial and sucked in her breath, shaking her head violently. The toxin evaporated slowly in a wisp of smoke.

Poison laughed maniacally, tossing what looked like thousands of tiny blue birds into the air. They followed the Titans closely, spitting out more blue poison as they got closer. Beast Boy morphed into an elephant, charging through the blue.

He snuck up behind Poison, who was still chuckling, and kicked her hard, in the back of the neck. She winced horribly and heard a suspicious cracking noise, but shed no blood. Beast Boy stood there, shocked.

"Foolish boy," Poison growled, pushing the hair into her eyes. The one visible eye had turned black, and her pearly white teeth had grown sharp and long. She muttered an incantation under her breath, though her eyes never left Beast Boy's. The other Titans were wrapped up in their own dilemmas fighting the birds, and didn't notice through the cloud of poison they emitted.

Somehow Beast Boy couldn't move—He needed to stay right where he was; Otherwise bad things would happen... Terrible things... Slowly the woman pulled out a deep blue vial, grinning slyly. Beast Boy's eyes widened and his mouth twitched, though he was still unable to move his whole self.

The woman slowly pried the cap off the container and lowered it to Beast Boy's closed mouth. With a gentle swish of her spidery fingers his mouth was open, and the poison even closer than before.

"BEAST BOY!" Raven coughed, charging through the birds. They bit and clawed through her uniform, tearing bits and pieces of the material. She lunged toward Poison and pushed Beast Boy out of the way just in time, the poison slipping and missing him by an inch.

It didn't miss Raven, however. The toxin dripped into her eyes and mouth, slowly evaporating into white smoke.

Her eyes drooped suddenly and she swerved on her feet.

Then Raven collapsed to the ground.

Author's Note:

I'm going to make this short. I'm really, really sorry for this being so late, but my computer crashed and needed repair so I just re-wrote it. And sorry about so much drama, and it being so short, blah blah blah.

Next chapter's probably the last, so review and make me happy (You want a good chapter, yes: D)

EDIT: Fanfiction screwed up some of the spacing between the words, so I had to fix it. It wasn't my fault though, so sorry for submitting it twice, and next chapter I won't do it again, even if the spaces are screwy.


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